Car heist for 007 to unravel

Camera IconActor Sean Connery became inextricably linked to the Aston Martin DB5 that was stolen 21 years ago.

For more than 20 years, the Aston Martin DB5 prototype which went on to become the original gadget-equipped James Bond car has been missing.

The car was stolen from an aircraft hangar in Boca Raton, Florida in 1997 and hasn’t been seen since.

Now, though, a clue has emerged as to the whereabouts of what is widely regarded as the most famous car in the world.

A UK-based organisation called Art Recovery International said it had received a tip-off indicating the vehicle was “being held at a specific location in the Middle East”.

That’s all the detail ARI said it had and the outfit also recognised the tip-off may have been sparked by another DB5.

As such, it stated an image of the car’s chassis number, DP/216/1, will be essential to verify the car’s identity.

If the information is accurate, ARI said it would pay a reward to “to anyone who can provide information that results in the safe return of the undamaged vehicle”.

The missing car starred alongside Sean Connery in the 1964 Bond film Goldfinger and was the first DB5 to be equipped with the renowned 007 gadgets such as the concealed guns and bulletproof screen.

Camera IconThe original Bond DB5 featured in the 1981 movie Cannonball Run.

It is one of only two Aston Martin DB5s to star in the early Bond films, Goldfinger and Thunderball.

The other DB5, chassis DB5/1486/R, was not originally fitted with the gadgets but had them retrofitted after filming finished.

US radio broadcaster Jerry Lee owned this car from 1969 and it was later sold at auction in 2010 for $5.1 million in today’s money. Given the missing car was the original special-effects DB5, it has been estimated to be worth well over $17 million.

Such is the value of this, the very first Bond Aston Martin DB5 (and in reality, the DB5 prototype), even its original service records were sold at auction in 2008 for about $2000.

The records include details of a scheduled service at 31,000 miles (50,000km), which included repairs to some of the Bond gadgets. The car’s owner at the time it was stolen in 1997 had purchased it in 1986 for the equivalent of $375,000.

If you know where the lost Bond car is, ARI chief executive Christopher A. Marinello will be happy to pay you handsomely to give up your secret. He can be reached at chris@artrecovery.com.